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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

- 0. P. & R. H. DANIELS. COTTON BA ING MACHINE.

No'. 554,775. Patented Feb. 18,1896.

( No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2.

" C. F. & R. H. DANIELS.

COTTON BALING MACHINE. No. 554,775. Patented Feb. 18, 1896.

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5M3 M Mg M if E UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CORNELIUS F. DANIELS AND RICHARD II. DANIELS, OF MACON, GEORGIA, ASSIGNORS TO DANIELS BROS, OF SAME PLACE COTTON-BALING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 554,77 5, dated February 18, 1896. Application filed November 17, 1893. Renewed January 16, 1896. Serial No. 575,815. (No model.)

to such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of our invention is to devise a superior apparatus for baling or compressing cotton as it comes in the form of a sheet, bat,

or web from what is known to the art as a condenser. I

To this end our invention consists in mechanism for creating and simultaneously compressing the folds into a bale, all of which will be more fully described hereinafter and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which illus-, trate the details of the machine, Figure 1 representsalongitudinal section thereof; Fig. 2, a vertical section; Fig. 3, a sectional view of 0 the presser-block; Fig. 4:, a top plan of the presser-block, and Fig. 5 a bottom plan of the presser-block.

The reference-letter A indicates the frame upon which the machine is mounted, which 3 5 frame consists of horizontal base-timbers A,

having vertical standards A arising therefrom, the standards in turn being provided with cross-braces A by which their rigidity is assured. Arranged'in the frame A and capa- 40 ble of a reciprocal movement therein is the presser-block a, which is mounted between the guide-bars a and a and by which it is supported. These guide-bars are four in number, and are arranged two at the bottom and 5 two at the top side of the block a. The bottom bars, o,are adapted to fit into correspondin g rabbet-grooves a in the block, and both the bars and the blocks have their engaging surfaces polished and hardened so as to reduce as much as possible the friction between the two. The upper bars are formed by heavy wooden beams bolted to the frame and secured from above by a series of knee-braces. This construction is necessary owing to the great pressure necessarily applied to them during the baling operation.

The compressor block or plate a is formed of a suitable framework of wood or metal, or both combined, and has formed on its bottom the parallel side flanges, B, in which are j ournaled the rollers B. Formed in the center of the block a,and extending partially through the same is a transverse passage 1). Arranged in these passages arethe compressing and feed rollers 12 which are two in number and located one in each of the semicircular passages 11 of passage 1), and which rolls are adapted to have the bats of cotton passed between them, whereby the bats are compressed and fed to the compressor proper. Fixed to each end of the spindle of one of the rollers are the sprocket -wheels b over which the drive-chains b operate and by which a rotary motion is imparted to the rolls. Secured rigidly to or formed integral with the forward end of the compressor-blocka are the matching or companion lugs C, between which the ends of the pitman C are pivotally secured. This pitman is adapted to be connected to the source of power by which the compress is operated, and by means of the reciprocal motion imparted to it the presserblock is correspondingly reciprocated.

The reference-letter 0 indicates the follower or base block upon which the cotton is compressed. This block is arranged below the block a, and is a little wider than the bale, probably one or two inches, while its length is about one-half that of the block a. The upper surface 0 of the block 0, or that upon which the cotton is compressed, is provided with transverse wooden bars arranged about one-half inch apart. Pi voted by means of the pin 0 in the frame A are the levers 0 which are four in number, and by which the blocko is supported. Each of these levers are of the bent class and have attached to IOO ' roller E rigid with the bars (1.

pivoted one to each end of the rods D, arranged at the bottom of the block 0. By this means the follower-bloek c is given a support which, though yielding, requires great pressure to force it downward, for owing to the ar rangement of the weights greater power would be required to lift their long arms by pulling downwardly in the links D Located at each side of the frame A of the machine are the vertically'extending dovetail guides d, in which are arranged and capable of a vertical movement therein the bars d. Journaled in these bars and extending across the machine are the trunnions d of the rollers E and E, and the rollers are arranged in a vertical alignment with each. Mounted upon the trunnions of the roller E and capable of a swinging movement thereon is the idler-frame e, which is composed of four duplicate sections arranged side by side and held in rigid adjustment by means of the braces c, and by the various spindles which pass from one section to another, and which will be described in detail hereinafter. Formed in each of the sections of the frame 6 at that point where the spindle or trunnion (Z of the roller E passes through is a segmental slot c-,through which the said trunnion passes, and which is so formed to allow the frame 6 its swinging movement and yet have the By this means it will be seen that no matter what be the position assumed by the frame 6 the rollers E and E will always retain their vertical alignment Located at the lower end of each of the four sections of the frame e is a concave bearingblockf, which bears upon the friction-rollers 1*". The rollers F are in turn supported by the blocks f which are fixed to the top of the pressenbloek a, and the frame e is so arranged that its weight will bear directly upon the bearings f and f and hence upon the reciprocating compressor block. By this means the frame 0 is made to swing in unison with the reciprocations of the block (1, and by means of the frames connection with the sliding bars (1 a vertical movement of the frame is made possible to accommodate its swing.

The chains Z)" (shown in dotted lines by Fig. 1) for driving the rolls 1) are, as stated before, two in number and working over sprocket wheels b or said roll. Each of these chains extend from any suitable source of power over the idler-wheels G on their way to the rolls b and on the return over the idler G. These wheels G and G are mounted in the side portion of the frame 6, and they are arranged out of vertical alignment and one at the top portion of the frame and one at the bottom. Through this construction the chain s always retain a uniform tension, because as the lower part of the frame swings to the right the degree of tension lost by the movement of the wheel G to the left is immediately taken up by the movement of wheel G to the right.

The essentiality of the successful operation of the device is that the wheels be one above and one below the pivotal point of the frame 6 and equidistant from said point.

The eotton-battin g is fed to the press proper between the rolls b and it is brought to the rolls through the medium of a system of conveying-belts operating over pulleys in. the frame 0. These belts are two in number and are respectively designated by the letters I l and I. Belt II first passes around a drive pulley or roller II, from which it derives its energy, and thence passes over the roller E", which forms the fulcrum of the frame 6, down to the roller h at the base of the frame 0. From this point the belt returns parallel with the downwardly-extending portion until the roller h is reached, and here the belt turns around this last roller,bears against the guideroller h of the frame A, and returns to the drive-pulley II. The belt I starts from a drive pulley or roller I, which is located just rearward of the pulley II, and travels directly parallel with that part of the belt II' which moves toward the frame 6 until the stationary roller E is reached. Here the belt changes its course and proceeds upwardly to the roller I and thence downwardly past a guide-roller 1 parallel with the downwardlyextending portion of the belt ll, until a point directly opposite the roller is reached, whereupon the belt I turns to the right over a pulley i and proceeds upwardly to the pulley i, which pulley is the highest belt-pulley in the frame (2. From this point the belt turns around the pulley '11 and moves forwardly to the pulley 1' against the lower side of which it bears, and to the pulley or roller 2', bearing against the last pulley or rollers upper side. The pulley 2? is, as the roller 71,, rigid on the frame A and movable only in unison therewith.

By reference to the drawings it will be seen that the rollers 7L2 and i are arranged at a point directly adjacent to the rollers U so that the batting as fed from the conveyorbelts ll and I will proceed directly into the rollers b It is to insure the safe and in fallible delivery of the cotton into these rolls no matter whatthe position of the presserblock ct, that the frame 0 is mounted so as to swing on the roller E, for it will be seen that as the frame e swings with the block a, as explained before, the vertical movement allowed-the frame will always keep the rollers h and '2' in close proximity with the rollers I). The peculiar arrangement of the belts II and I and their respective rollers and pulleys is to keep said belts at the proper tension during the movements of the frame, for otherwise they would be alternately tightened and loosened, which would render them. wholly inoperative. Thus as the frame c swin with the block a to the right the pulleys E and E,

bearing respectively the belts H and I, will not moved at all, but will retain their vertical alignment; nor will the belt H be materially affected by such movement, for as the pulley 7& moves to the right it swings in the arc of a circle on the pivotal point E, thus maintaining a uniform tension; but as the pulley 8 moves to the left a slack would be created in the belt were it not for the contemporaneous action of the pulley i which moves slightly downwardly and bears the belt I tightly against the stationary guide-pulley 2' thus taking up the slack as fast as granted by the pulley i.- Therefore it will be seen that by this means the two belts are kept parallel with each other and of a uniform tension, thereby making it impossible for the cotton to be fed unevenly to the rolls.

By reference to the drawings the operation of our invention may be traced as follows: The cotton in the form of the well-known bats is fed from the condenser of the gin directly upon the belt II, when it is instantly caught between the two belts II and I and car ried down to the compressor feed-rolls b As the batting is passed through these rolls, it is subjected to intense pressure and passes out compressed into a comparatively thin and compact sheet. From the rolls b the batting or sheet passes down between the two of the rollers B directly under the rollers 6 and owing to the before-explained pressure between the blocks a and c the end of the batting is firmly clamped on the corrugations c of the latter block and at that point in said block where the batting first touched the block. Simultaneously with this operation the presser-block a is reciprocating on the block 0, and when the block a has gone to the limit of its, say, for example, out or rearward stroke and starts on the return the cotton is turned upon itself, and as the return stroke is under process of completion a second layer of batting or sheet-cotton is being placed and compressed upon the first, the rollers B operating to roll and compress the successive layers as fast as laid and the corrugations c serve to be pressed into the first layer and thereby cause such layer to be immovable on the block 0. As the number of layers become great enough their weight and the pressure of the block a operate upon the block 0 to push it down against the tendency of the weighted levers c and as these layers begin to rise under the influence of such pressure on block 0 the force they exert becomes greater, for as they tend to project out horizontally their leverage is accordingly increased, and thus the bale is formed in the most compact manner possible. When the levers a have been raised to a truly-horizontal position, the bale will have attained a thickness nearly equal to the width of the batting and hence the bale, and at this stage it is desirable to stop the operation, tie and remove the bale and begin the formation of a second bale. The tying operation may easily be effected by arranging upon the upper face of the follower-block a piece of bagging, and by passing it through the rollers b and giving the block a a few reciprocations which will firmly set the bagging in place. The bale is then formed and when completed the bagging may easily be folded thereabout; vand the whole tied securely by forcing the ties between the rollers of the top block a and between the wooden bars on the follower block. The removal of the completed bales is effected by raising the levers c and thus releasing the pressure on the block 0, whereupon the bale may be easily drawn out through the rear of the machine. It is of course necessary to tie the bale before withdrawing it.

If preferred, the wire or whatever may be used for tying the bale may be placed between the bars on block 0 and the rollers of block a before the compressing operation is begun, and this will avoid forcing the wire under the bale when compressed.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to procure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a cotton-compressing machine, the combination of a base-plate, a reciprocating compressing-plate, a conveyer-belt for feeding cotton to the plates, and a roller-carrying frame pivoted to oscillate and to move vertically in unison with the reciprocations of the compressin gplate, substantially as described.

2. In a cotton-compressing machine, the combination with a yielding counterbalanced base-plate, a reciprocating compressing-plate movable on the base-plate, a conveyor-belt for feeding the cotton to the plates, and a roller carrying frame pivoted to oscillate horizontally and to move vertically in unison with the reciprocations of the compressing plate, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

CORNELIUS F. DANIELS. RICHARD H. DANIELS.

YVitnesses O. T. KENAN, E. M. SIoHEL. 

